Quality issues or not?

[Chrispy66 0]

Hello all. I am a newbie, so please excuse my ignorance. I am amazed at the amount of knowledge in this forum. I can only hope to gain a fraction of your knowledge and I will condider myself a lucky man.

My question is vague, but any and all responses will be helpfull. I recently purchased a home in a high crime area. With this said, i opted to purchase a video surveillance system. Due to the current economy, my budget was limited so I purchased the following products from a company I'm sure you have all heard of, "Security cameras Direct" My setup is:

 

4 x 6042ir2 Day/Night vision 130' ir cams

2 x 6042ir3 '' '' '' 165' ir cams

3 x Swann cheap 50' ir cams

1 x 9 channel regulated power supply box (12volt)

1 x 9 channel DVR (security cameras direct 9004 w/160g hd)

1 x 22" high def 1080p LCD monitor

All cameras are within 100' of my monitor and are run with decent quality BNC connectors and wires. I even run the power supply box through a filter on a seperate circuit in the house to prevent interfeirance. my picture qualty is fair at best and i dont think focus is an option on these scd cams. Any suggestions?

[dejota 0]

Looking through those products the biggest issues seem to be resolution related. Even the "expensive" camera in the bunch only offers 420 lines of resolution.

 

Only way to improve that would be increasing the quality of the cameras your using. That said 100 more lines of resolution (on a 520 Hi-Res cam) is only going to go so far.

 

Maybe now that you've been there longer you are more familair with "key" areas that you'd want to focus on and replace only those cameras. Basically I'd find a more specific use for my system before upgrading things, if it's just to keep a general eye out you'd be looking at replacing the entire system to get the better picture across the board.

 

I suggest finding 2 or 3 key spots where you feel a very good image has a greater function and replace those cameras and rearrange your remaining equipment to keep a more general eye on things.

 

Hope this helps.

[Chrispy66 0]

Thanks for your response to my post earlier. I dont think I was clear enough on my post. Kinda like my cameras problem... Anyways I dont feel that the cameras, which are all 420 LOR are performing the way I know they are capable of. The picture is flickering at night as though there is a problem with powerline interferance, the effect is somewhat like a strobe light. Two of the cfc6042ir2 seem like they need to be focused, but the lense is sealed inside the actual body of the camera. I was seeking some feedback from someone who has had similar issues with these cams. Or who has some tricks up there sleeve. Thanks again for your reply.

[Soundy 1]

Thanks for your response to my post earlier. I dont think I was clear enough on my post. Kinda like my cameras problem... Anyways I dont feel that the cameras, which are all 420 LOR are performing the way I know they are capable of. The picture is flickering at night as though there is a problem with powerline interferance, the effect is somewhat like a strobe light.

 

What size power wire are you using? It's possible that if the gauge is too small, as the IR kicks in, the current draw causes a voltage drop that causes the camera to shut off briefly. This can be even more of a problem with a regulated supply, because you don't have that 2-3V of "headroom" that you get with non-regulated units (a non-regulated 12VDC supply will often output between 15-18VDC, which means if you have a couple volts' drop, you're still well over 12V).

 

Another possibility, if there's too much ambient light or something overly reflective in front of the camera, is that it's switching in and out of IR mode.

 

Two of the cfc6042ir2 seem like they need to be focused, but the lense is sealed inside the actual body of the camera. I was seeking some feedback from someone who has had similar issues with these cams. Or who has some tricks up there sleeve. Thanks again for your reply.

 

There is always a possibility with cheap bullet cameras, that they're not focused properly before assembly. Most of them, you can open up the housing and adjust or change the lens, although you have to be careful not to damage the weather sealing.

[Chrispy66 0]

Thanks Soundy,

 

You hit the nail on the head. I am running cables purchased with the cameras so I assumed the company (SCD), knew what they were selling when they sold them to me. The cables are really thin and cheesey. They are not labled as far as the gauge of wire goes, but comparing them to other wires I know what the gauge is, they appear to be 20 gauge. Being there 100' wires, I'm sure the voltage drop is substancial. I tried a new cable that is 14 gauge, and low and behold, a camera that doesnt suck as much!

 

Thanks for your help Soundy!

 

Sincerely,

Chrispy66

[Soundy 1]

Thanks Soundy,

 

You hit the nail on the head. I am running cables purchased with the cameras so I assumed the company (SCD), knew what they were selling when they sold them to me. The cables are really thin and cheesey. They are not labled as far as the gauge of wire goes, but comparing them to other wires I know what the gauge is, they appear to be 20 gauge. Being there 100' wires, I'm sure the voltage drop is substancial. I tried a new cable that is 14 gauge, and low and behold, a camera that doesnt suck as much!

 

Thanks for your help Soundy!

 

Sincerely,

Chrispy66

 

Hahaha, nice I suspect the stock wires were intended to be used with a non-regulated power supply... as noted, to compensate for the expected voltage drop. Actually, if the power supply is adjustable, you can always put a meter on the connector at the camera end, *with the camera operating*, measure the voltage, and increase the voltage at the power supply until you get a sufficient reading... but yeah, simply using larger wire is really the preferred solution